Bass: Should It Be Banned?
We live in a moderately priced apartment complex. Since it is just the two of us, apartment living suits us very well while we decide what we want in life. Buying a home is just not logical for us at this time. For the most part, we enjoy this worry-free lifestyle; our place is cute and cozy and doesn’t require much maintenance.
As for neighbors, we have very few complaints. There are children in our building, but that isn’t a bother to us, even though we do not have children ourselves. In the summer months they can get a little rowdy, but nothing that can’t be tuned out. When you live in condensed housing you have to expect some outside noise from time to time, which is something we fully understand. There is truly only one major complaint and one that any apartment tenant can probably relate to at some point- bass.
Bass is that horrible thumping noise that creeps in from time to time when one of your neighbors mindlessly cranks their sub-woofer while listening to, almost always, crappy music or watching some action-packed flick. Sometimes it’s the thump, thump, thump of the beat or a long droning melody of three or so notes that makes up the bass line. Sometimes it’s a rumbling or loud BOOM from an explosion on screen. Whichever it is, it’s hard to ignore and disrupts any happy household.
As far as apartments go, our place is pretty well soundproofed, we almost never hear voices, whether arguing, screaming or wailing, but nothing can defeat the beast I call bass. Unfortunately, it’s hard to measure and most people don’t exercise common sense. What may sound okay to your ears in one room, may be thumping into the neighbors bedroom or living room next door.
For this reason I have to ask… why is bass even allowed in apartments to begin with? I am not for legislating laws for every complaint, but I believe there should be a clause in just about every lease that bans sub-woofers or excessive bass of any kind. I feel this sort of action would benefit both apartments and tenants. Who wouldn’t feel better about renting from a place with such a restrictions? It would set the tone for a more harmonious living space where tenants show respect for one another’s right to live in peace. It would also prevent tenants from having to trouble police and property managers so often with complaints, or deal with the mess that is bound to occur when neighbors decide to take things into their own hands.
Although we are great lovers of listening to music in its fullness and experiencing movies complete with surrounded sound, I would gladly sign such a lease! In fact, we have already done away with our sub-woofers because we want to be assured that we are the good neighbors we expect others to be. As home theaters are becoming more affordable, and therefore more common, I hope that this issue begins to be addressed by the management that has the power to enforce these changes.
If nothing else, I hope this serves as a reminder to others to be considerate to those around you when using such sound systems yourself.
Final thoughts:
We have lived in many apartment complexes over the years and without a doubt, the biggest complaint we have had is the use of excessive bass. When other sounds do not penetrate the walls, bass reverberates throughout the building. This is the nature of a sub-woofer, which makes it completely unnecessary for anyone to ever use one in a complex. We have dealt with this issue in 3 ways, speaking to the neighbor directly, contacting management, and contacting the police. In all 3 cases the issue would be resolved for a short period of time and eventually resume. The reason a “no sub-woofers” clause in a lease would be a good thing is because it would prevent most people from considering the use of it in the first place, which would certainly cut down on the problem. No rule will ever eliminate any problem, but it can sure help and at least you have a legal document to hold them accountable to.
